


Bumps In The Road

by scrappylittlegleek



Category: Supergirl (Comics), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Road Trip, F/F, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Human Kara Danvers, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Love is Requited They're Just Idiots, Protective Kara Danvers, Road Trips, Sharing a Bed, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED, bed sharing, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29906487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrappylittlegleek/pseuds/scrappylittlegleek
Summary: In the midst of a self-defined quarter-life crisis, Kara finds herself driving halfway through the country with no plan or end goal in sight. She meets Lena at a gas station, a seemingly headstrong, confident woman, whose up and left her own home to escape all the disasters it holds. And against her better judgment, Kara invites Lena along on her journey of a road trip.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 10
Kudos: 144





	Bumps In The Road

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning: catcalling/harassment

Kara hopped out of her car, stretching her arms out behind her head as soon as her feet hit the pavement. Of all the days she could’ve picked to pack up and throw her life into the metaphorical wind, this had to be the worst. Tuesdays were just never right for life-changing decisions, especially when they ended up like this. 

Sun beaded down, forming droplets of sweat that lined Kara’s forehead, and caused her hair to frizz up from the humidity. Normally, she didn’t mind the heat, but Kara was starting to think the weather, and the lost road map, and the fact that her car radio had broken down about ten miles back were all signs that maybe she should’ve stayed home. Maybe she should’ve tried to ride it out at work, to fix things with her boyfriend, and every other fuck up she’d spent months trying to handle. Maybe she just wasn’t the adventure type. Some people were built for boring, day-by-day lives with partners they don’t love and jobs they secretly hate. 

Perhaps that was the world Kara was made for.

With a sigh, Kara ran her hands through her sweaty hair and pulled it back into a low bun at the base of her neck. Once she could finally feel the air hitting her skin again, she allowed herself to lean back against the side of her Jeep and do a quick scan of the gas station. 

It was pretty empty. There was a pickup truck and a man in his mid-forties standing by one of the gas pumps, a mini-mart with a lit-up sign at the other end of the lot. Half the letters had gone dark and Kara was unable to make out any shoppers through the windows. Instead, all she could see was the cashier.

Finally, her eyes landed on a young brunette woman. She sat on the pavement, leaning back against the store with one of her legs outstretched onto the road, the other crossed over at the knee. A cigarette sat perched between her index and middle finger, emitting a long line of smoke that clouded up around her face. Sunglasses had been pushed back into her hair like a headband and a navy blue jean jacket was tied around her waist. She didn’t seem to mind the smoke nor the heat. Kara couldn’t help but wonder how long she’d been sitting there, for her to become so unphased to all of that.

With one last pop of her back, Kara began the walk across the near-empty lot, grimacing at the smell of exhaust and gasoline creeping up through her nostrils. She did her best to shake it off, turning her head in the other direction in hopes that it would somehow vanish, but the effort was quickly deemed useless. Instead, she just looked towards the woman and, in turn, made her observance even more obvious.

However, it wasn’t until Kara had already made her way into the mini-mart and was hit with a wall of crisp air-conditioned air that she allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief. No bad smells, no humidity. Just a cashier and aisles upon aisles of snacks. 

Just what she needed. 

Kara was so caught up in the satisfaction of _one_ thing finally going her way that she didn’t even notice the footsteps behind her, or the cashier grumbling an oddly cheerful hello to whoever had come in after her. It took her all the way until she was standing between the chips and candy aisle that Kara heard somebody clear their throat and tap her shoulder. 

“Hey.” 

Instantly, she whipped her head around, brow furrowing when Kara saw the same woman from outside standing a few feet away from her. She had her hands planted on her hips, chin raised, with the slightest smile on her lips. The cigarette was gone and so were the clouds of smoke, revealing the rest of her face to the world.

She had green eyes, Kara noted. They were narrowed ever so slightly, but Kara could still make out the color, the way the fluorescent lights seemed to bounce off the little pools of honey surrounding her pupils. 

“Hey…” Kara said, slowly setting her bag of chips back down on the shelf. Was she in some sort of trouble? Because it felt like she was about to face the adult version of getting called to the principal's office. 

“I could see you staring at me,” the woman stated. “Outside, I mean.”

“Oh… yeah, sorry about that,” Kara said with a nervous chuckle. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I’m just-- I quit my job yesterday and I’m kinda in the middle of the biggest mistake of my _entire_ life, and you were just sitting there and I got caught up in my head and I, well, when I get stuck, I stare. It’s a nervous habit, I have this problem where either I don’t make eye contact at all or I just get super aggressive with it and act all robotic. So I stared at you-- but you know that part. But it wasn’t because I wanted to be weird. Or robotic. I just think I’m in the middle of like a quarter-life crisis or something, and you know, when I get nervous--”

“You stare?” The woman finished, raising an eyebrow. 

Kara nodded. She clamped her mouth shut to make sure she wouldn’t get another word out because _holy fuck what was she saying._

“Yeah,” she whispered. “I stare.” 

The brunette smiled, dimples appearing at the edges of her lips. It was a very nice smile, Kara couldn’t help but think to herself. It felt warm like her eyes. 

“So…” the woman began, rocking back and forth on her heels. “I know that you quit your job and now you’re on some sort of self-fulfilling journey to go find a new life. You’re kind of in the middle of a breakdown, but you aren’t really sure yet, because you haven’t gotten to the ‘drink yourself into oblivion’ or ‘shave all your hair off stage.’ And now you’re in a gas station because I’m guessing in the midst of your panic, you forgot to pack and now you’re realizing just how big of a mistake everything you’ve done in the past twenty-four hours was. Oh, and how could I forget? You stare when you’re nervous and that’s why we’re here now.” 

Kara just stared again, completely dumbfounded. They’d been talking for all of thirty seconds and this woman was psychoanalyzing her as if they’d known each other for years, and for some reason, was getting everything all of it right. The whole thing was so stunning, all she could do was nod and mumble a quiet “yeah, that all sounds right.” 

“Now that we’ve got your life story out of the way, mind telling me your name?” 

“Kara?” 

“Nice to meet you, Kara, I’m Lena.” 

Kara smiled. “Lena, that’s pretty.” 

“Thank you.” 

“So, now that you know every crushingly embarrassing detail about what I’m doing here, what about you? Are you some kind of serial killer who stalks people outside gas stations, comes inside and befriends them Ted Bundy style, only to brutally murder them and stuff the bodies in the trunk of their car once they're done?” 

Lena paused and raised an eyebrow, unsure of how to respond to that. The change in expression was so painful to watch that Kara was starting to consider crawling into one of the ice cream freezers and hiding under frozen Snickers bars and Drum Sticks for the rest of eternity. 

“Oh-- you weren’t joking,” Lena said after a moment. She chuckled nervously and pursed her lips, slipping her hands into her front pockets.“No, I’m not a murderer. If I were though, I probably wouldn’t tell you.” 

“Yeah… probably,” Kara said quietly. She could feel her cheeks filling with heat, _tomato red_ was nowhere near strong enough to put a label on the mortification she felt. Give it another minute and she was sure steam was gonna start shooting up out of her ears too. 

“But no, I wanted to get away from reality for a bit so I tried to backpack through the country. But all my stuff got stolen about two shady motels ago and the next bus isn’t gonna come by for another day, so I’m waiting it out here,” Lena explained. “I’m not really sure where I’m gonna go, though. It’s kinda hard to figure stuff out when you’ve got no phone.” 

Kara nodded. For a second, she looked back across the store, trying to see her old, beat-up car through the front window. 

She did have extra room-- a _lot_ of it considering she hadn’t packed anything at all. And having someone to talk to might’ve been a nice change of pace seeing as now that the radio was blown out she didn’t have any other way of filling the silence. 

_No, Kara! You can’t take a_ stranger _on a road trip with you– she could literally be a serial killer! You just had this conversation, what the fuck is wrong with you?_

But clearly, Kara’s mouth worked faster than her brain because the next thing she knew, she was asking Lena if she wanted to come with her. 

“You could ride with me for a bit,” she’d offered. “I mean, I don’t really have any plans so I’m just kinda driving aimlessly, but if you’re okay with that, you could tag along.” 

Lena hesitated. She pulled at the tips of her fingers as she tilted her head to the side, unable to tell if Kara was bluffing or not. 

“Are you serious? I mean, I could be dangerous. Very, very dangerous,” Lena taunted. Her voice was low and husky, the slightest rasp attaching itself to her words. It had to be the cigarettes shredding up her lungs. Kara knew it was a bad thing, it _had_ to be a bad thing, but god, it was _so_ sexy. 

“Yeah… I mean, as long as you don’t get car sick, I-- I could squeeze you in,” she stammered, grimacing at the way she was sounding. 

“Great,” Lena grinned, though, she still looked a bit confused. “You’ll meet me outside?” 

“Sure, right. I’ll meet you outside.” 

* * *

Kara couldn’t help but watch Lena through the corners of her eyes as she lowered her foot onto the gas and pulled out of the parking lot. It was just something about her, the way she carried herself and knew how to get exactly what she wanted that Kara found so intriguing. 

She was confident, but not appraisive. She could hold her head high and spine tall, but it was no longer intimidating. It hadn’t even been ten minutes and yet, Kara wasn’t sure if she’d ever been more fascinated. Every choice she made, she was giving less thought than the last, and for the first time, she didn’t seem to care. As Eliza used to say, she was _going with the flow._ Kara still didn’t understand the saying at all, but she fucking loved it! 

“You know, those things are terrible for your lungs,” she commented as she watched Lena light another cigarette through her left-hand mirror.

“I know,” Lena said, shrugging. “I normally try to avoid smoking when I’m stressed, but I also like to avoid getting into cars with strangers, so…” 

Lena turned her head so she was facing Kara, her hair blowing out into the wind as she raised an eyebrow, smiling ever so slightly. The sun was bouncing off her skin, the pink patches stitched across her cheeks more noticeable than ever. 

“But if you tell me a bit about yourself, you won’t really be a stranger,” she commented, before taking a long drag of the cigarette. “I mean, other than what you shared at the mini-mart.” 

Kara nodded and chewed her bottom lip. “What do you wanna know?” 

Lena shrugged. “Anything. Why’d you quit your job?” 

“Oh, uh…” Kara hesitated, nervously drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. “It just wasn’t working. I’ve been a personal assistant for like a year now and my boss absolutely _despised_ me. I guess I just couldn’t take it anymore, so I left.” 

She looked over at Lena, who now was smiling for real, dimples and all as she exhaled and released a long string of smoke into the air. 

“What about you? Why are you backpacking through the country?” 

“Well, I’d been working for a while with my older brother. Originally, I wanted to be a surgeon, but we got into researching together… trying to find a cure for cancer in this tiny lab in the middle of Metropolis. We were so close to a breakthrough and he’d just gotten this huge grant. But when the money started coming in and we weren’t getting results fast enough, he forged all the data without telling me,” Lena sighed and let her head fall back against the car seat. “So I presented our ‘findings’ to the investors like an idiot. And, of course, they figured out it was all bullshit right away. But since he’d conveniently missed the meeting, I took the fall for and was then blacklisted from pretty much every hospital in the country.” 

“So you picked up and left?” 

Lena nodded. “Yup. I picked up and left.” 

She pulled one leg up into her chest and rested her elbow against it. She knew if she continued to talk about herself, she’d only drive Kara away. And maybe she didn’t really have her, perhaps she never would. But Kara was nice, she seemed to like it when Lena spoke-- or at least, she didn’t appear bothered.

Lena didn’t have many people in her life like that. She wasn’t sure she ever had. All she knew was someone like Kara was too rare to let fall through the crevices of her shattered reality already.

“Mind if I turn on the radio?” Lena asked instead, hoping if she deflected enough, Kara would remain blind to who she really was. 

“Oh, it broke a few miles back. I have a few playlists on my phone, though.” 

“Mind if I fix it?” Lena offered. 

“Fix what?” Kara glanced back over at her. “The radio?” 

Lena shrugged. “I’m good with my hands,” she said, smirking. The sight turned Kara’s stomach into a pretzel-like knot. 

“Uh--” Kara cleared her throat, unable to form any words at all. “Ye- yeah, sure, you can-- yeah.” 

Lena grinned and tossed her cigarette out the window. If it had been anyone else, Kara wouldn’t have hesitated to go off on them about how bad littering was for the environment, and how, as a doctor, she should’ve known better than anyone how terrible smoking was. 

But with Lena, Kara couldn’t bring herself to say a thing. 

She simply watched as Lena pulled a bobby pin out of her hair, and managed to unscrew the car radio, then, to Kara’s amazement, pull it out entirely. She hummed to herself while she tugged at a few of the wires, unplugging and reconnecting things in a way that Kara knew would never make sense to her. 

“I’m sorry for unloading all that on you,” Lena said, eyes focused on the wires as she worked. “About my job and my brother… I’m sure you didn’t actually want to hear it.” 

Kara shook her head. “It’s okay, I like listening. I’m not great at helping or advice, but I’d like to think I’m a good person to talk to.” 

“You are.” Lena looked up, smiling up at Kara. The sun washed over her like a calming sheet, giving her eyes the slightest golden glow.

“T- thank you,” Kara stammered. She could feel her cheeks turning red again, and not just from the heat. 

“Okay, I’m all done,” Lena said, breaking the momentary silence. She reconnected the stereo to the car, biting her lip as she reached out to turn the station knob. 

It took a minute, but once the crackling static cleared up, the music came through. Lena couldn’t help the squeal of excitement that escaped her at the sound, the way she bounced in her seat, only to stop herself by falling back into the chair and covering her mouth with her hands. 

“Sorry, I just haven’t fixed anything in a while,” she said with a nervous chuckle. “It’s kind of exciting.” 

“Yeah,” Kara said, grinning. “That’s-- that was amazing! If it wasn’t for you, it probably would’ve stayed broken forever!” 

Lena laughed and bashfully shook her head. “It’s nothing, really.” 

“Well, either way, I think it’s very impressive.” 

“Thank you,” Lena said. She paused for a moment, smiling ever so slightly. “I’m glad you think so.”

* * *

Lena chewed her bottom lip and shifted her weight between her heels as she reviewed the selection. She’d gone through a fair share of burner phones in high school, mostly because she needed some source of communication that her parents wouldn’t have been able to trace back to her. But even at such a young age, she’d always found a way to tamper with the mechanics, to insert her own tech to ensure maximum protection. Now, though, the situation was worlds away from what she was used to. 

She had no starting point. Hardly any money, and nobody to call if something went wrong. Just Kara. Sweet, endearing, Kara, who seemed to be standing on the edge of a cliff of her own. It didn’t make any sense why she seemed so open to letting Lena tag along with her, but Lena figured, perhaps this was one of those things that was better left unresolved. If Kara did end up turning out just like everyone else, it would all hurt that much less if Lena avoided getting invested. 

They had pulled over at another gas station about ten minutes ago. Kara had gone out of her way to find one after she’d (not so quickly) realized that she’d so busy staring at Lena from across the parking lot at the first location, that she’d forgotten to pump any gas. This left Lena in another mini-mart, searching through off-brand flip phones and trying to make a decision as quickly as possible. 

“Hey, sweetheart, you’re holding up the line.” 

Lena scoffed and shook her head, glancing behind her to see a tall, gangly man standing behind her. He was staring at her ass, smirking as if he were proud that she caught him looking.

Not in the mood to protest, Lena just grabbed the packaged phone closest to her and set it on the counter, reaching into her back pocket, before sorting through the wad of unorganized cash.

“You don’t need to freak.” He chuckled. “Don’t want a pretty little thing like you to worry.” 

Lena’s hands began to tremble as she organized the money. She was holding her breath, not wanting to risk even the smallest of errors. Setting the cash down on the counter, she could feel eyes burning into the back of her neck. But she couldn’t let it phase her. She had to get out as quickly and quietly as possible. So she thanked the store clerk and took the plastic bag with her phone, hurrying out of the store as fast as she could.

However, before she knew it, Lena heard rapidly approaching footsteps and the same man's voice calling out after her. She sighed as she looked back, doing her best to appear as unbothered as possible. But the fact that her heart rate had shot through the roof and her palms were now drenched in sweat made the job a lot harder. 

“Ya know, you’d be so pretty with a smile,” the man said, hands slipping into his pockets as he stepped forward. “You should try it. Come on, lemme see you smile.” 

“Yeah, I’m good, thanks.” 

Lena turned around and looked across the lot to Kara, wishing she could hear her telepathic cries. She was oblivious, though, earbuds in and music playing as she continued to fill the car with gas. 

“Don’t be like that, sweetheart, just gimme a smile.” 

Lena began to walk even faster, praying to a god she didn’t even believe in that he would take the hint and leave her alone. But of course, he didn’t. And just as he reached out to grab Lena’s shoulder and spin her back around, Kara’s head turned and she caught wind of what was happening. She dropped the pump and without any hesitation, ran across the lot.

“Hey!” She called out, making direct eye contact with him.

Lena couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief as Kara approached and swatted the guy's hand away, glaring at him with the force of an entire army. 

“Get your hand off my wife, you creep,” she said, causing the man to step back in confusion. 

“Your wife?” He exclaimed, eyes darting between the two women.

 _Yeah, wife?_ Lena wanted to ask. But she kept quiet and stepped over to Kara, doing her best to keep up with whatever her blonde mess of a knight in shining armor had hidden up her sleeve. 

“Yes, my wife,” Kara repeated. She slipped her arm around Lena’s waist, pulling her close out of pure instinct. “We’re supposed to be going on a road trip together, and we would really appreciate it, if it wasn’t ruined by weirdos like you, trying to harass her for a smile.” 

“I’m sorry, I didn't realize she was yours,” the man said as he took a step back, raising his hands up in defense. 

“Well she isn’t an object, just because we’re married, doesn’t mean she belongs to me,” Kara retorted. “Maybe if you learn how to respect women as people and not _things_ , you’ll understand.” 

All Lena could do was stare as Kara guided her away from the man with her arm securely wrapped around Lena’s waist.

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with that,” Kara whispered, smiling reassuringly.

“Oh… it’s alright. Thank you for saving me.”

Lena wasn’t sure if it was fear or adrenaline or the fact that she’d never expected to see something so strong, so solid, and powerful, come out of the blubbering mess she’d met at the gas station just a few short hours ago, but Lena couldn’t seem to form any words at all. Instead, she reached up onto her toes and leaned over, pressing a firm yet chaste kiss to Kara’s lips. 

It shouldn’t have done anything at all, but Lena’s felt her heart flutter at the touch. She was filled with the taste of cherry chapstick and Krispy Kreme donuts, inhaling a security and fullness she never wanted to release. 

“Woah,” Kara breathed as she pulled away. She looked at Lena, looked at the way her lip balm had smeared when it rubbed off around her lips and tried to bring herself back to reality. 

“That-- you-- what?”

“You’re my wife,” Lena said, trying to smile as casually as possible. “Just wanted to make it realistic.” 

“Yeah, that… that works.” 

“Was it good?” 

“Yup. Very very good.” 

**Author's Note:**

> this started out as a ficlet, but I'm definitely considering adding more chapters  
> if you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave it below :)


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